Turbodissolver



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY JOHN 1205115 W f Dec. 11, 1945.v c. R. RECHTIN ETAL TURBO DISSOLVER Filed OGC. 5, 1943 FIG. 1.

Dec. l1, 1945. QR. RECHTIN ET AL l 2,390,598

` TURBO DIssoLvER y Filed Oct. 6, 1945 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 32 INVENTORS. CLAQINCE l2. QECHUN JOHN ETQOSTLE BY Y FIG-4.

Patented Dec. 11, 1945 TURBODISSOLVER Clarence R. Rechtin, Bridgetown, and John E. Trostle, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignors to The J. H. Day Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application October 6, 1943, Serial No. 505,146

7 Claims- (Cl. 259-96) The present invention relates to a machine, referred to herein as a turbo-dissolver, for cutting and mixing a soluble material with a solvent so as to produce a homogeneous mass.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a turbo-dissolver with such improvements as will greatly expedite the production of a solvate, or a mixture, composed of uid and solid materials, thereby resulting in substantial savings of time, labor, and expense in the processing of such materials.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the character stated, which includes a combined agitating, cutting, and circulating means, for the effective processing of materials to produce a desired solvate.

Another object of the invention is to produce a simple yet highly emcient machine for the purpose stated, having a minimum number of moving parts sturdily constructed and arranged in such fashion as to reduce to a minimum the possibility of breakage and distortion of parts, so that the machine may operate for extended periods of time without need for repairs or servic- A further object is to provide a novel and eiiicient form of impeller for a machine of the turbodissolver type.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the turbodissolver, part being broken away to show thefinterior.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side View of the impeller element of the machine.

Fig. 4 is a fragmental cross sectional view of a shearing impeller blade which forms part of the impeller element.

Machines of the general character herein disclosed have been constructed in various ways, with the hope of reaching the highest possible degree of eiciency, particularly with relation to the extent of the mixing period. Various forms of impellers have been devised, operating at various rates of speed and within unique environments, and in the effort to reduce to a minimum, the time period required for the production of asolvate or uniform mixture, from soluble solid material and a suitable solvent therefor. As a general rule, the production of a satisfactory solvate or homogeneous mixture requires many hours of mixing time, resulting in comparatively slow production and a correspondingly increased expenditure of labor and power, accompanied also by frequent servicing and repairs in the machine.

The present invention has overcome the foregoing obstacles, to expedite and speed up production to a very material extent. Instead of merely churning up the solute and the solvent until a homogeneous mixture or compound is secured, the present machine incorporates with its churning action a rapidly operating comminuting or shredding action along with the circulating and .churning of the constituents of the mix. Moreover, the circulating action imposed upon the substances undergoing processing, is rendered severe to lan extent heretofore unobtainable with .the use of known mixing machines. It has been ldetermined that the mixing period in many'instances may be reduced by 300%, withoutimpairing the quality or the thoroughness with which the solvate is produced. Referring to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates the improved ,machina which comprises a large cylindrical tank 6 supportedin any suitable manner, such as by means of legs or standards 1, and within which is mounted an impeller indicated generally by the character 8. The impeller is adapted to be rotated by means of a vertical shaft 9 driven from any suitable source of power, herein represented as an electric motor IIJ, through the medium of a train of gears housed within the gear box I2. The driving means may be properly supported upon brackets I3' or otherwise, above a tank cover I4 which has a charging port indicated at I5. The nature of the tank cover, the charging port and the driving means, is a matter of immateriality to the present invention, and may accordingly be designed in accordance with common practices in manufacturing procedure.

As will be understood, the impeller shaft 9 is supported for rotation vertically, with the aid of suitable bearings I6 and Il-located at the upper andl lower ends of the tank. The impeller 8 may be keyed or otherwise suitably fixed upon the impeller shaft, as at I8, and is preferably so located as to rotate centrally of tank 6. The region in which the impeller rotates is defined by a stationary knife assembly, which comprises a series of radially extending blades I9, each `of which carries an inwardly directed upright or shearing edge 20. The back edges of the knives are indicated at 2|, and are spacedfrom the side wall of the tank upon mounting bases 22 adapted for securement of the knife assembly to the bottom wall 23 of the tank. v' The connections between the tank bottom and the bases of the knives may be effected in any suitable manner, such as by means of screws or bolts 24 which securely mount the bases relative to a locating pad illustrated at 25.

The extreme upper edges of the knives may be supported by a circularV connector ring 26, within the confines of which the rotating impeller is operative. As illustrated by the reference characters 21 of Fig. 2, each knife I9 may be reinforced against possible distortion or breakage, the characters 21 representing suitable -reinforcing struts or webs extending from the connector ring 26 downwardlyto the several knife mounting bases. ranged radially upon the tank bottom, and will The knives preferably are ar,-Y

preferably, though not necessarily, be located in vertical planes which intersect the axis of the" impeller shaft. the connector ring of the stationary knife assembly provide a wellcentrally of the tank, within which a major portion of the impeller may be rotated.

'Ihe impeller itself is likewise of well shape, and 4comprises a bottom Wall 28 of shallow cone shape carried by the hub 29 vand elevated slightly above the tank bottom. The impeller bottom maybe furnished with a series of openings indicated at 30, the purpose of which willbe explained. The lowerl end of the impeller hub may rest upon a. suitable thrust bearing 3|, `to maintain adesired elevation of the impeller within the well established by the stationaryknife unit.

'Ihe upper surface of the impeller bottom 528 carries a series of shearing impellerblades 32, which as illustrated by Fig. 2 are curved back- Wardly, or oppositely tol-the direction of rotation of the impeller proper. These blades are each constituted of an upright shearing v(Jr-knife section 33, and a radially curved. centrifugingsection 34, preferably integral with one-another. Both sections are inclinedto the vertical, in the direction of rotation of the impeller, so that the leading faces of the blades will fhavetop edges 35- (Fig. 2) arranged-Yin'advance offthe lower edges 36, whereby upon rotation o f the impeller in the direction of the arrow 31, the material undergoing processing will-Abe drawn downwardly into the central well of the impeller, as indicated by the series of arrows 38 upon Fig. 1, and thrown outwardly toward the tank wall. As will be evident from an observation of Fig. 1, most of the material thusly circulated will be forced to Aescape through the shearing region of the knives, where comminution of-any solid particles of the material takes place. The outer edges of the knife sections 33 are sharpened or provided with suitable cutting areas at the locations 39, the sharpened edges extending substantially the full length of the stationary knives I9.

Fig. 4 shows one of the shearing impeller blades 32 provided with a cutting edge 39, which may be formed as a weld of hard and durable metal applied to the leading face 35 ofthe blade. It will be understood, of course, that a sharp edge may be furnished at the end of the blade, with out resorting to a weld such as is illustrated at 39 of Fig. 4.

The series of shearing impeller blades may be supported at their upper endsaby means of a. circular impeller ring 410, which ring preferably is located at approximately the same elevation as the stationary knife-unit ring 26. The inner circumferential edge 4| of the impeller ring may The series of knife edges and be ared inwardly and upwardly as indicated, for the purpose of inducing a free and direct flow of solvate to the central well of the rotating impeller. A series of upstanding elevated vanes 42 may project above the impeller ring, the number of such vanes being sufficient to insure a high degree of turbulence abovethe impeller, for the two-fold purpose of aiding the mixing action, and keeping the flat surfaces of both rings clear of any sediment or adhering matter in the mixture undergoing processing.

As previously mentioned, the bottom wall of the impeller carries a series of perforations 30. There perforations serve to drain the impeller upon completion of the mixing operation, so that all of the solvate may be drained from the tank and from theimpeller through the flush valve 43. In order that none of the solvate may remain static or isolated beneath the bottom of the impeller 4during the mixing operation, the underface of the impeller bottom preferably is provided With a'series of sweep fins 44 which radiate outwardly from the impeller hub 29 to reach the outer limits of the impellergbottom. rllhe sweep fins may Vbe curved4 correspondingly with the curvature of the shearing impeller blades so as to produce a substantial centrifuging action upon the solvate. The lower edges 45 of the sweep `fins preferably are made arcuate in conformity with the concavity of` the `tank 'bottom,`along which the sweep fins travel with slight clearance.

VIn the operationA of the turbo-dissolver, a solvent is introduced into Vthe tank along with sheets, strips, or chunks of soluble material to be dissolved, and as thedrivingmeans is placed `in operation, the solvent will immediately proceed to'y circulate in the orbit indicated by the arrows 38/of Fig. l. The solid'material to be dissolved will be carried downwardly into the central well of the impeller, fand will be" repeatedly introduced to the rotating land stationary knife edges 39 and 20,where complete and powerful forces are imposedfor cutting Vup and comminuting the solid material. By shredding or shearing the solid material into a multitude of particles, and subjecting the particlesfto the turbulent action of the impeller, arapid y'disintegration ofthe solid material occurs so as' to substantially increase the area oflsolid Vmaterial exposed to the action of lthe solventi.'r The longer Ythe machine is operated, thes'mallerv the particles of solid material vwill be comminuted, with'vthe result that the formation of a homogeneous mass of solvent will be Agreatly expedited. Upon completion of the mixing operation, the interior of the tank and of the impeller may be drained-completely of solvate through the 'flushvalve 43. i

In conclusion, it may be stated that the stationary knife assembly andthe rotating impeller unit embody various structural features which render them highly durable and resistant -to distortion or breakageall of which is necessary due tothe fact that the solid material to be dissolved is frequently' introduced -into the tank in the form of heavy sheets; strips, or chunks of varying sizes. The service required fof the impeller and the knife `assembly `may be appreciated to some extent, when it is vconsidered that the material to be dissolvedmay Abe crudel rubber, or other forms of rubber, introduced'into the'tank as thick sheets or strips which areoccasionally rolled upin ball formation. It-s'hould beunderstood that the processing of certain materials inayresult in the generation `of considerable heat, lin which event "the tank 8 may be surrounded by a jacket adapted to contain a coolant or possibly even arefrigerating coil. The cooling of the tank is particularly desirable when the lsolvent is of Aa volatile nature, and might therefore be lost in the presence of heat generated incident to the mixing process. In other cases, the mixing process might possibly be expedited by jacketing the tank 6 and introducing into the jacket a heating medium, or possibly a direct flame to elevate the temperature of the tank. It has been proposed also to apply electric heating elements either interiorly or exteriorly of the tank, in those instances requiring the application of heat in aid of the mixing operation. These considerations, while capable of rendering considerable assistance toV the rapid production of a satisfactorysolvate, are corollary to the action of the shearing, cutting, or shredding function, and also the material circulating eifects induced by the improved means of the present invention.

It is to be understood that various modifica-` tions and changes in the` structural details ot the device may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a turbo-dissolver, the combination of a tank having a side wall and a bottom, a circular ring of stationary knives 'opstanding within the tank, said knives having back edges spaced from the side wall of the tank to provide an escape passageway for liquid-borne material undergoing processing within the tank, an open well in the tank dened by the knife edges and having as its bottom the bottom of the tank, an open topped impeller fitted within the well and arranged for rotation therein in a horizontal plane, said impeller having a bottom overlying the tank bottom, and a series of radially disposed blades supported above the impeller bottom and extending outwardly to close proximity with the circular ring of knives, the outer ends of the blades including shearing edges to cooperate with the ring of knives when the impeller is rotated, for comminuting solid material introduced into the tank with the carrier liquid, means associated with the impeller blades to draw downwardly into the open top of theimpeller the solid material and carrier liquid above the impeller, and to place said liquid-borne solid material under the centrituging iniluence of the impeller blades, for subjection of said material to the shearing action of the knives, said material after leaving the knives being circulated into the escape passageway behind the knives and directed upwardly along the tank side wall for re-entry into the open top of the impeller, a connector ring joining theupper ends ofthe blades on the rotating impeller, a second connecting ring joining all the stationary knives together, said second ring being disposed at substantially the same elevation as an open topped impeller tted within the well and arranged for rotation therein-said impeller comprising a series of radially disposed blades each extending outwardly to close proximity with the stationary knives, the outer ends ofthe blades including shearing ledges angularly inclined to the stationary knife edges for effecting a .shearing action upon any solid material in a carrier liquid undergoing processing within the tank, each impeller blade being inclined at an angle to provide a leading upper edge advanced in the direction of impeller rotation for drawing into the open top of the impeller the liquid-,borne solid material aforesaid, the blades serving at the same time to centrifuge said material outwardly to the stationary knives, a connector ring joining together the blades of the impeller, and disposed at substantially the same elevation as the connector ring for the stationary knives, and a series of vanes on the impeller above the blade connector ring, for agitating and centrifuging material across both rings to scrub them continuously as the impeller rotates. 1

3. In a turbo-dissolver, the combination of a tank having a side wall and a bottom, a circular l arrangement of stationary knives upstanding within the tank, said knives having upper portions in a common plane, and a connecting ring joining the upper portions of said knives, said ring and knives forming within the tank an open well, an open topped impeller tted within the well and arranged for rotation therein, said impeller comprising a series of radially disposed blades each extending outwardly to close proximity with the stationary knives, the outer ends of the blades including shearing edges angulariy inclined to the stationary knife edges for effecting a shearing action upon any solid material in a carrier liquid undergoing processing within the tank, each impeller blade being inclined at an angle to provide a leading upper edge advanced in the direction of impeller rotation for drawing into the open top of the impeller the liquid-borne solid material aforesaid, the blades serving at the same time to centrifuge said material outwardly to the stationary knives, a connector ring joining together the blades of the impeller, and disposed at substantially the same elevation as the connector ring for the stationary knives, and a series of varies on the impeller above the blade connector ring, for agitating and centrifuging material across both rings to scrub them continuously as the impeller rotates, and means on the impeller inducing a similar scrubbing action upon the bottom of the tank included within the well aforesaid.

4. As a new article of manufacture, an impeller for a masticating and mixing machine, said impeller comprising a central hub and a series of blades radially extending from said hub, the outer ends of the blades presenting knife edges inclined relative to a plane that includes the hub axis, each blade further being inclined at an angle to provide a leading upper edge advanced in the direction of rotation of the impeller, re1- ative to other portions of the blade, whereby upon rotation of the impeller the blades serve as a screw to draw mixable material toward the blades in position to be centrifuged outwardly by `the blades, a top connector ring joining the blades in the region of their leading edges and a perforated shallow bottom wall beneath said ring joining together the lower portions of al1 said blades.

5. As a new article of manufacture, an impeller for a masticating and mixing machine,

said impeller comprising.v a centralhub and a series'of blades radially 'extending fromsaid hub, the outer ends of the blades presentingknife edges inclined relative to a plane that includes the hub axis, each blade further being inclined at an angle to provide a leading fupper edge advanced in the direction of rotationiof the im-r peller, relative to otherportionsLof' the blade, whereby uponrotation of the impellerlthe blades serve as'a screw to draw mixable material toward the blades in'position to be centrifuged outwardly by the blades, a periorated'shallow coneshaped bottom for the impeller joining together the lower portions of all' of said blades,` andan upper connector ring. joining the blades in the region of their leading edges, means in the form of sweep ns for centrifuging material along the impeller bottom, and a. series of vanes on `the connector ring above the blades, for agit-,ating and centrifuging Vmaterial laterally across the upper face ofthe ring. l Y Y 6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of atank having Va side wall and a bottom, a series of stationary` knives located within the tank and arranged in circular formation .with the cutting edges of the knives upstanding relative to the tank bottom, thereby to form a circular well surrounded by knife edges, an imi-y peller rotatablyA `supported labove, the'tank bottom within said well, and comprising a series of radially disposed blades Vhaving forwardly projecting shearing edges located at the outer ends of *theV blades to move in close proximity with the stationary knives Yas the impeller is rotated, thereby to comminute any solid material entering between the knives and blades, and means for rotating said impeller,` said shearing edges being of anmaterial harder and more durable than that ofi-the impeller blades, and projecting forwardly in the direction of advancement of the impeller blades when rotating. .i y

`f7. `In a-machine of the class described, the combination? ofV a tank having a side wall and a bottom, a series ofvstat'ionary knives located within the tank and arranged in circular formation with the cutting edges of the knives upstanding relative itc-'the tank'bottom, thereby to form a circular well surroundedby knife edges, an im4 peller rotatably supported above the tank bottoni within said well, and comprising a series of radially disposed blades having shearing edges located at the outer ends of the blades to move in close proximityr with the stationary knives as the impeller is rotated, thereby to comminute any solid material entering between the knives and blades, and means for rotating said impeller, said shearing edges comprising welds of hard and durable metal shaped to furnish sharp edges projecting in the direction of advancement of the impeller blades.

l CLARENCE R. RECHTIN.

JOHN E. TROSTLE. 

